Prepare for Christmas is more than Preparing Food
Are you preparing for Christmas? You probably are – but are you preparing the right things?
Your heart?
Your child’s heart?
Remember, what is in our heart is what will come out in our choices and our reactions (our behaviour).
I am a old school Girl Guide – it is all about being prepared! And helping our children, now, before the big day (or few days) – is going to help your whole family enjoy your Christmas celebrations.
How will your child respond to
- Being disappointed with their gift
- Wanting what someone else has been given
- Not wanting to go or leave an event
- Greeting relatives
- Being tired and emotionally overwhelmed
Take stock now, and start teaching/practicing so that your kids have some idea of what is right, why it is right and how to do right when it comes to Christmas Day.
For more tips listen to the latest Heart-focused Parenting podcast where I share 5 tips to help you navigate preparing for Christmas Day.
What is the behaviour you are most anxious about popping up with your kids on Christmas day?
Last Minute Heart-focused Activities
Has the countdown to Advent caught you by surprise? IKR – it comes up so quickly.
My Family Faith and Fun Advent Guide is a quick solution.
I take the 4 weeks of Advent, focus on the 4 words of Christmas love, joy, hope, peace and give you 3 options for each word to focus on Jesus, love on others, or have fun as a family.
Plenty of options for you to choose what will work for your family this year without you being stressed over it. Which means – it is worth doing now – even if you don’t do all 4 words. Do what you can – continue it after Christmas because any time of the year is a good time to learn about Jesus really!
$5.00aud and instantly downloadable. Read more here
Your job is to help your child do life well
Start talking to your kids now about the situations they will be in and teach them the right way to behave.
Not for performances sake – we don’t want to have perfect little children to show off – but because there are right choices to make, and poor choices to make. We can set our children up for success (aka making wise choices) by teaching and practicing now.
List the things your kids might need to brush up on…
>Receiving gifts – what about if they are disappointed or already have the gift
>Greeting people – what about if they don’t like kissing or have problems shaking someones hand?
>Eating unknown foods – what about if they really don’t like something they have in their mouth?
>Santa – what to do if someone believes santa is real, and they don’t
When you teach what is the right and respectful thing to do in each of those situations, and even practice (or role play) then we not only help our child to be able to make wise choices, but when they don’t, the groundwork is already laid and it is easier to correct or redirect them in the moment.
What are some situations you think your kids might struggle with this Christmas? How do you plan to address it?
Reading Picture Books this Christmas
Reading stories isn’t just for fun – they are a powerful tool parents can use to shape their child’s heart and mind.
Scroll through to see how to get the most out of reading stories together.
In summary
- Ask them to retell the story in their own words
- Follow up with open-ended questions leading to wisdom thoughts
- Share your perspective
Now at Christmas time there are so many amazing beautiful picture books – that will spark so many conversations with your kids – regardless of the ages.
Let me know your favourite Christmas time picture book.
5 Myths of a Heart-focused Christmas
Parenting at Christmas is tough. So much going on..
Just because you are intentional and Heart focused don’t buy into these myths and false expectations.
Watch to the end and see how you can be real and true to your values this Christmas .
Teach your Child how to Leave an Event
When we are having fun it is hard to leave an event – but leave we have to. So teach your children to be responsible and respectful when it comes time to leave.
I taught my children that
a – doing the right thing was their responsibility, this was the a foundational understanding in our family.
b – I taught them how to be responsible when we were leaving an event (public event, or a friend’s place)
c- When it was time to leave I would remind them that they needed to do the right thing so that we could leave.
d- I would encourage or commend them depending on how independently they were able to do the right thing.
This slide is the checklist they had drilled into their thinking.
Have you taught your kids to be able to leave a friends place with respect and responsibility?
Heart-focused Activities for Christmas
This resource is $5.00AUD - which works out to be just over 3 USD dollars.